Info on Gill Flukes

[simsavfc]

Hi Discus Lovers

I have recently had some sick looking discus, their symptoms were flicking of Pelvic Fins and Dorsal Fins... scraping and rubbing on objects and darting at the top of the tank and one discus which was only using one Gill... One of the discus had even stopped eating... unfortunately he died two days ago.. Gutted

So this weekend i decided to take a discus to My local Aquatics store, Shirley Aquatics who kindly did a scrape for me... and just as feared they diagnosed Gill Flukes..

Now I have done some research on Gill Flukes and Body Flukes and i know that Gill Flukes Lay eggs on their host which can hatch in four days and that Skin Flukes although very much alike Don't lay eggs but in fact carry their baby's and Give birth! Rank...

Anyway the Guy from the aquatics store told me that he found 4 Flukes off 1 scrape on the small discus (being the one which died 2 days ago) and suggested that 4 flukes off 1 scrape indicates high Infestation.. So he advised I bought Kusuri Fluke -M which is actually meant for Koi but he told me they use it in their discus and Ram Tanks... Apparently its the same stuff just of a higher concentration and stronger which would be better due to my tank being high risk of high infestation.. It says its a 1 off medication which works over 7 days

I bought some small expensive scales which cost me £40 so i could measure the correct amount needed in my 240 Litre (50 Gallon) Tank as i didn't want to risk overdosing an already powerful Medication...

Now I Medicated the Tank on Sunday and it is now Tuesday (2 days into treatment) and still have some flicking of fins and German Rams still having odd scrape on the wood in the tank.. although the discus seem alot more relaxed.. and the one discus which was only using one Gill is now using both sides..

My question is how does this Medication actually work on the flukes? and should the Rams and discus have stopped flicking Gills and scraping all together by now? Like i say there has been improvement and Fins are not Clamped all the time like before.. am i just being impatient? Does it take more time in Highly Infested tanks and should i Do a water change after 7 days and do a second dose??

Any Info would be fantastic

[Tormentor]

Well I'm no fish expert but for the little knowledge I have most if not all the medicine that it is use for treating flukes has praziquantel, witch what it does to the flukes is that it makes the parasite starve and died, as far I as know though it won't kill the eggs, so people always recommend to treat for a period of 21 days, and the regime is 3 days with the medicine in the tank and 4 days without it so that all the eggs that survived die during the treatment period. I have use some pure powder praziquantel from aquascience but I'm still in the treatment as of of right now.

[dirtyplants]

Don't know what is in your meds. but formalin / formaldehyde base med is often used for ectoparasites with very good success. No it will not kill eggs, only the larvae stages and adults. So multiple treatments along with rest periods after treatment not at all uncommon.

[Ardan]

Well I don't know what's in the med that you are using, but if the one is now using both gills, that is a good sign.
Your research is good in that skin flukes have live babies and gill flukes can lay eggs which are usually not affected by the meds.

It is very difficult to kill all flukes IMO, but discus can usually do well with some flukes IF water conditions are kept good and food is good and no overcrowding etc.

So WC's Are very important and keeping the tank clean.

HTH
Ardan

[simsavfc]

Well it has that flubenzdole in it however dont quote me on the spelling lol

[Ardan]

Your spelling is very close. Flubendazole
other notes, higher temps also increase the immune system of the fish
higher temps increase activity of the parasites, so they absorb more nutrients and more "medicine" and they die sooner

Ardan

[lipadj46]

I've used Kusuri Fluke-M to get rid of flukes.

[simsavfc]

I've used Kusuri Fluke-M to get rid of flukes.

How long did it take for your discus to stop flashing etc? Im into day 6 and still showing irratable symtoms.... I was told I had heavy infestation so maybe will take 2 or 3 doses with water changes in between? My water is at 83F by the way

[Chicago Discus]

How long did it take for your discus to stop flashing etc? Im into day 6 and still showing irratable symtoms.... I was told I had heavy infestation so maybe will take 2 or 3 doses with water changes in between? My water is at 83F by the way

Sorry to jump in, But the flashing can be caused by all sorts of things. The only definite way that you can determine if you have an infestation of Flukes is to perform scrapings of the gills and body and look under a microscope. if you have a heavy infestation of gill and body flukes the most likely cause is dirty water and not maintaining your aquarium on a regular basis. The first thing I would do is start performing regular water changes and see if the flashing stops if not that take your scrapings and look for flukes under a microscope. Then treat for the problem but clean water can solve most problems.......Josie

[simsavfc]

hi,

I have had my water tested and it is all fine, I had a scrape done which confirmed the presents of flukes... and I was told there was four flukes on one scrape from a small discus which meant that it was most probably high infestation.. hence the treatment..

I do water changed 2 times a week and maintain my tank with pride....
However seen as Fluke M is a single dose 7 day treatment I'm assuming I cannot do a water change during treatment... This is why I was going to do a water change at the end of day 7 and then re dose.